Crypto exchange CoinEx has begun a staged global shutdown after nearly nine years of operations, citing a prolonged market downturn, shrinking trading volume and liquidity, and compliance costs that it says have exceeded reasonable limits. The wind-down started on September 15, 2026, with new user registrations blocked and futures trading switched to reduce-only mode, preventing traders from opening new positions or increasing existing ones.
Under the timeline, all non-spot services including fiat, margin, lending, Earn, staking, strategic trading, and OnChain will end on September 22, when remaining open futures positions are scheduled for forced settlement using index prices. Spot trading will remain available until September 29, after which unfilled spot orders will be canceled and the exchange will begin converting non-USDT balances. CoinEx said assets with external market liquidity may be sold in batches and converted to USDT, while assets without outside liquidity may be delisted and their wallets will no longer be maintained.
The platform token CoinEx Token (CET) has a separate exit process. CoinEx plans to maintain a 0.005 USDT buy order for CET through September 29 and waive trading fees on the CET/USDT pair during the repurchase window. Any CET remaining after that window will be automatically repurchased at the same price, with no caps or conditions attached.
Withdrawals will remain available until 02:00 UTC on December 22, 2026. CoinEx said user balances remain fully backed and its asset reserve ratio exceeds 100%. However, USDT left after the deadline will move into independent custody and incur a monthly custody fee equal to 5% of the original balance, with a final claims date of August 22, 2028.
CoinEx Wallet and CoinEx Vault are explicitly excluded from the shutdown and will continue operating under their own service terms. ViaBTC said it will discontinue its Withdrawal to CoinEx feature on September 22 because of business changes at the exchange partner.
The closure follows a difficult regulatory and security history. In 2023, CoinEx reached a settlement with the New York Attorney General requiring $1,172,971.50 in refunds for New York investors and $626,133.88 in monetary relief to the state. In June 2026, CoinEx faced scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal report linked $3.84 billion in transactions to Iran-related entities, which CoinEx disputed. The exchange also suffered an estimated $70 million hot-wallet exploit in September 2023, which blockchain analysts linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
The closure comes two months after BitMEX announced its own shutdown after eleven years of operation, with both exchanges pointing to compliance costs as a central factor. That pattern may continue as regulators tighten licensing requirements for offshore platforms and push trading volume toward exchanges built to absorb the cost of compliance.
